Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-8was a song זְ‏ מוש)‏ ‏,(מִ‏ which was sung to the accompaniment of windinstruments ל־הַ‏ נְ‏ חִ‏ ילות)‏ ‏,(אֶ‏ whereas Psalm 4 was sung to the accompaniment ofstringed instruments. The exact meaning of נְ‏ חִ‏ ילות is unclear. It may beinterpreted as a “description for a tune accompanying the psalm (having to dowith ‘the inheritance’), but . . . most commentators relate [it] to the type ofinstrument to be used (usually ‘flutes’)” (Wilson 2002:164). The fact that it wasa song sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments and it belonged tothe musical director’s collection indicates that it was used in temple worship.In terms of twentieth-century form critical categories, Psalm 5 is an individuallament (UCSSB 2002; Bratcher 2006b). Scholars have suggested a psalm ofinnocence (Dahood 1966:29) or a psalm of confidence (Mowinckel 1921, citedby Craigie 1998:85) as the most suitable sub-classification. On the grounds ofthe references to the wicked and the righteous as general classes of people inverses 4-6 and 9-12, Broyles (1999:56) views it as a communal lament inwhich the speaking “I” is a liturgist representing “the righteous”. I think it ismore likely that it was originally an individual lament which was later adoptedfor liturgical use. In the light of verse 4, the widespread belief that it was usedliturgically as a morning prayer (e.g., Hayes 1976; Craigie 1998; Broyles1999) is well founded.123